Have we witnessed the death of the audiophile? ...

[speedmaster]

Adieu to the true audiophile? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
"I'd bet the average person under 30 hasn't purchased a serious home stereo system in the last five years. And it's not because they don't like music. Quite the opposite, actually. The popularity of online streaming music sites, rise of music blogs, and skyrocketing digital music sales from places like iTunes, Wal-Mart.com, and Amazon.com show that young people are voracious music consumers."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9950368-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

[ducktapehero]

I for one have never been an "audiophile". I rarely listen to music at home and when I do I just listen to it on my computer. My hearing isn't sharp enough to spend that much money on speakers. It all sounds about the same to me. Same with digital and hi-def TV. My eyes aren't really good enough to notice the difference so it's no big deal to me.

[NutSAK]

The fact that compressed audio such as mp3 is so popular, alone, is a good indicator that the audiophile is dying.

[BIG-TARGET]

It about time!!!!   Those evil doers doing sick perverted things to innocent little audios should die!! 

[NutSAK]

[Medic82]

One thing that is important for me to have at home is a decent surround sound system.

There’s nothing like cranking the volume up really loud when watching a action flick, feeling the subwoofer working on your internal organs when the s**t starts flying.
Playing Iron Maiden, Metallica, Jimi Hendrix and Judas Priest on your computer is blasphemy. It’s supposed to be played loud and preferably on a LP.

Butt, for some people it’s not that important and I feel sorry for them, not realizing what an experience they are missing. The system don’t have too be so expensive or play crystal clear, it just have to pack a good bass and play really loud.

Can’t wait for Iron Maiden too come too Norway.

[Whoey]

I have a £600 5.1 surround setup in the other room, and most of the time I'm listening to our rather large music collection with a pair of 50eur 2.1 speakers I bought via my PC...

[Medic82]

Hocked up my PC to the sound system and TV.

[Splat]

The fact that compressed audio such as mp3 is so popular, alone, is a good indicator that the audiophile is dying.

Not true. That is about portability and quantity-vs-quality. There are still plenty of audiophiles out there. Look at how records are still being produced, and are bought by a niche public.

[NutSAK]

The fact that compressed audio such as mp3 is so popular, alone, is a good indicator that the audiophile is dying.

Not true. That is about portability and quantity-vs-quality. There are still plenty of audiophiles out there. Look at how records are still being produced, and are bought by a niche public.

I belive that two phrases in your statement show evidence that it is, in fact, true.  "quantity vs. quality" and "niche public".

I didn't say there were not plenty of audiophiles out there, and I stated "dying" not "dead".  I agree with you that it is a quality vs. quantity issue, but is becoming a standard for the younger generation and much more than just a portability issue, but one of convenience.  Don't you think a trend toward quantity vs. quality and increased consumption of compressed audio is an indicator of an overall reduced demand for quality audio? 

There has been a sharp decline of home audio component sales in the past 10 years, with up to a 40 percent decline in some components in the last 3 years.  How many teenagers do you know that have component audio systems in their bedrooms and sit down and just listen to music as many of my friends and I did?  If the younger generation isn't interested in good audio quality, who will replace the current generation of audiophiles and keep them from "dying" out?

I don't believe we have yet "witnessed the death of the audiophile" as the OP stated in the subject.  But, I do believe the audiophile is a dying breed.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I thought video killed the radio star, in my mind and in my car?  We can't rewind, we've gone too far....

 

Def

[NutSAK]

Yes, that too, of course. 

[DaveK]

"biggstuu" who posted the first reply to the article on that link makes a fair point I think.

I have a £600 5.1 surround setup in the other room, and most of the time I'm listening to our rather large music collection with a pair of 50eur 2.1 speakers I bought via my PC...

I know where you're coming from there - I have a Nakamichi Soundspace 8 system in my front room, and its basically just flashy furniture. £1000 for a metal box on the wall that never gets switched on! I listen to my iPod and PC mostly, and although the quality is obviously inferior, I'm clearly not bothered enough to burn a disc, shift the kids from in front of the telly and use the Nakamichi!

[rant] Just to add frustration, the bloody rabbit has eaten through the cable that connects the Nakamichi head to the sub-woofer. It turns out that its a proprietry cable and its going to cost me £80 to replace it!!!!!! I'm off to the local "audiophile's" shop in the morning to see if they can splice the old one back together for me. Who knows maybe I'll get away with £50  I could buy a new multi with that cash, and I swear the rabbit is laughing at me  [/rant]

[BIG-TARGET]

One thing that is important for me to have at home is a decent surround sound system.

There’s nothing like cranking the volume up really loud when watching a action flick, feeling the subwoofer working on your internal organs when the s**t starts flying.
Playing Iron Maiden, Metallica, Jimi Hendrix and Judas Priest on your computer is blasphemy. It’s supposed to be played loud and preferably on a LP.

Butt, for some people it’s not that important and I feel sorry for them, not realizing what an experience they are missing. The system don’t have too be so expensive or play crystal clear, it just have to pack a good bass and play really loud.

Can’t wait for Iron Maiden too come too Norway.

ACcording to the mythbusters some musical notes, though the do affect your inner ear, causing nausea and disorientation.  There is no "BROWN NOTE"

[DaveK]

After the local "experts" decided that they couldn't guarantee that they could splice my cable, and that they'd want £60 to have a go anyway as they would need to send it to somebody "highly skilled", I figured I'd spend the £80 and and actually get a guarantee.

The cable arrived today, and I've just spent an hour re-threading it into the bloody wall, along with another another £20's worth of phono cabling.

I hope the rabbit enjoyed it's £104.63 "lunch" 

Still, hearing it again was a wonderful moment after nearly 6 months, maybe I am a bit of an audiophile after all.....

Here's a pic of my recovered baby:

[NeitherExtreme]

I've never had the money to be a true audiophile, but I definetely lean that way. Anyway, I've noticed the same trend- speakers are getting smaller and cheaper, and in many cases giving up better sound in the process. I expect that the home theater brands are going to have a rough time, and high-end audio will become a smaller "hobby" market, as most people care more about size and packaging that precise sound. The thing is that technology has come far enough that sound thats "good enough" for the average buyer can be packed into a tiny size, which can be appreciated much more quickly than the aquired taste of quality sound reproduction.

I'm not too worried for myself though... next I drop any serious $$$ for speakers, I'll probably get some powered studio monitors. I would guess that the studio market will probably be fairly unnafected by this trend, so I'll always have some options there.

[Splat]

I think it has more to do with how fast people live their lives... always on the go, especially here in the USA. It's like a trickle down effect. The parents are always on the go, working, buying food, getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night. Thusly, a lot of parents just heap things on their kids, not taking the time to teach or be with their kids, thusly the kids have more to do. Today's music sucks anyway. ;-)

[NutSAK]

Today's music sucks anyway. ;-)

I hear you, brother!

That's a purty Nakamichi you have there, DaveK!

[Whoey]

I hope the rabbit enjoyed it's £104.63 "lunch" 

I hope that rabbit turned into £105 rabbit stew